While Chelsea fans may be upset having missed out on Dayot Upamecano to Bayern Munich, there could be a silver lining. Of course, losing the young Frenchman is a loss, however, this signing could open the door for the Blues to sign another Bundesliga centre-back – David Alaba.
Dayot Upamecano’s Move to Bayern Could be Blessing in Disguise for Chelsea
Unlike Upamecano, Alaba is a Free Transfer for Chelsea
Given that new defensive stalwart, Thiago Silva is 36, it’s no secret Chelsea are looking to improve their backline. The options reportedly being looked at were Niklas Sule and Alaba of Bayern, as well as Upamecano.
Now that Dayot Upamecano is joining Bayern, the two main options for Chelsea should be Sule and Alaba. However, the former looks less likely given his age and contract length, while the latter makes perfect sense for both clubs.
The 28-year-old has confirmed that he is leaving in the summer, and the best part is that the Blues could get him for free, much like Silva.
The only issue is the massive wage package of £400,000 per week that Alaba’s demanding. Of course, expert transfer negotiator Marina Granovskaia should certainly be able to bring that down, but even a compromise would easily make him the highest-paid player at the club.
There’s no transfer fee, which certainly helps, but Chelsea must decide if it’s justified to pay a player so much more than the plethora of established stars at the club. However, there’s no denying his quality and the impact Alaba would have.
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Real Madrid Will Provide Chelsea Heavy Competition
With Alaba’s quality, in addition to his contract situation, clear to all, it’s no surprise that other major clubs are interested in the Austrian as well. The biggest competitor that Chelsea would face for his signing is Real Madrid, who are dreading the day club captain Sergio Ramos retires.
Much like Silva, Ramos’s days are numbered, so Madrid are looking to secure another top centre-back to play with, and ultimately replace, the Spanish legend.
However, Madrid are also eyeing big-money deals for Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, and others, as they look to get back to the biggest stage of world football, so they may not have the finances to get this deal done.
While Alaba wouldn’t take any money from the transfer budget, a £400,000-a-week wage could cripple their wage budget. Given that Mbappe would demand a similar wage, it seems unlikely that both signings could get done.
Chelsea have a good chance of signing Alaba, especially now that Dayot Upamecano has joined Bayern. However, they will need to decide if he is worth the massive wage he’s demanding, as well as beat out Madrid’s interest, in order to complete the deal.
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